Mastering Your Emotions: Stoic Secrets to Finding Joy in the Everyday!

foreign have you ever been on an emotional roller coaster your mood swinging from the peak of exhilaration to the depths of Despair all in the blink of an eye what if I told you there's a way off that ride a path to mastering your emotions and discovering authentic Joy what if this ancient wisdom laid out by a Roman philosopher almost 2000 years ago could radically alter your perspective on life right now stick around because we're diving into seneca's lesser-known letters that hold the secrets to mastering your emotions and finding joy in the everyday if you've been with us for the first part of this series on seneca's transformative letters you already know that these documents are more than just ink on paper they are the Whispers of wisdom that have transcended time and space crossing the Millennia to arrive in our digital age the first video was a journey through seven of seneca's most impactful letters dealing with themes like resilience personal growth and human relationships we talked about becoming Invincible not in the sense of some superhero power but as a state of mind that equips you to navigate life's challenges with Grace and wisdom in today's video we're pivoting slightly but significantly we're focusing on the themes of emotional Mastery and the Quest for genuine everyday Joy now you might be thinking emotions Joy that's the stuff of self-help books and motivational speakers not ancient philosophy but bear with me seneca's approach to these universally relevant topics is not only unique but stunningly applicable even in the 21st century so why emotional Mastery well if you think about it emotions pretty much run the show they dictate how you respond to Life's challenges how you interact with other people and even how you view yourself the stoic philosophy epitomized by Seneca provides practical tools for mastering these capricious elements of our human experience and in doing so stoicism opens the door to a more enduring internal form of Joy Untouched by external circumstances and about Joy a term we often throw around Loosely what do we mean we're not talking about transient happiness that comes from external validation or material possession we're talking about an internal deeply rooted joy that serves as a stable foundation for a fulfilling life we're talking about the kind of joy that doesn't flutter away when things go awry the kind of joy that even Seneca a man who lived through political Exile and faced execution could tap into and Express in his profound letters in today's video we will dissect five specific letters where Seneca lays bare his secrets on controlling our emotional selves and finding that elusive persistent Joy he tackles this Grand Endeavor from various angles from the merits of philosophical reflection as a source of Joy to the importance of self-control moderation and courage by the end of this video we will have built a comprehensive road map informed by Seneca to master our emotional landscape and draw Joy from The Well of everyday life you might be wondering are seneca's letters the ultimate Handbook for life well they are a part of a mosaic of wisdom Traditions that have enriched human history however the unique appeal of these letters lies in their balance of philosophical depth and practical advice Seneca doesn't just offer Grand theories he boils them down to actionable steps steps that each one of us can Implement starting today so get comfortable grab your notepad or your tablet and prepare for another Deep dive into the stoic wisdom of Seneca this isn't just a foray into ancient history it's a quest for a Timeless way of living it's a promise that even amidst the chaos and uncertainty that life often throws our way we can find grounding resilience and yes Joy letter 8 on the Philosopher's seclusion do you bid me you say shun the throng and withdraw from men and be content with my own conscience where are the councils of your school which order a man to die in the midst of active work as to the course which I seem to you to be urging on you now and then my object in shutting myself up and locking the doors to be able to help a greater number I never spend a day in idleness I appropriate even a part of the night for study I do not allow time for sleep but yield to it when I must and when my eyes are wearied with waking and ready to fall shut I keep them at their task I have withdrawn not only from men but from Affairs especially from my own Affairs I am working for later generations writing down some ideas that may be of assistance to them there are certain wholesome councils which may be compared to prescriptions of useful drugs these I am putting into writing for I have found them helpful in ministering to my own sores which if not wholly cured have at any rate ceased to spread I point other men to the right path which I have found late in life when wearied with wandering I cry out to them avoid whatever pleases the throng avoid the gifts of chance halt before every good which chance brings to you in a spirit of doubt and fear for it is the dumb animals and fish that are deceived by tempting hopes do you call these things the gifts of Fortune they are snares and any man among you who wishes to live a life of safety will avoid to the utmost of his power these limed Twigs of her favor by which we Mortals most wretched in this respect also are deceived for we think that we hold them in our grasp but they hold us in theirs such a career leads us into precipitous ways and life on such Heights ends in a fall moreover we cannot even stand up against Prosperity when she begins to drive us to Leeward nor can we go down either with the ship at least on her course or once for all Fortune does not capsize us she plunges our bows under and dashes us on the Rocks hold fast then to this sound and wholesome rule of life that you indulge the body only so far as is needful for good health the body should be treated more rigorously that it may not be disobedient to the Mind eat merely to relieve your hunger drink merely to quench your thirst dress merely to keep out the cold house yourself merely as a protection against personal discomfort it matters little whether the house be built of turf or a variously colored imported marble understand that a man is sheltered just as well by a thatch as by a roof of gold despise everything that useless toil creates as an ornament and an object of beauty and reflect that nothing except the soul is worthy of Wonder for to the soul if it be great not is great when I commune in such terms with myself and with future Generations do you not think that I am doing more good than when I appear as counsel in court or stamp my seal upon a will or lend my assistance in the Senate by word or action to a candidate believe me those who seem to be busied with nothing are busied with the greater tasks they are dealing at the same time with things mortal and things immortal but I must stop and pay my customary contribution to balance this letter the payment shall not be made from my own property for I am still conning epicurus I read today in his works the following sentence if you would enjoy Real Freedom you must be the slave of philosophy the man who submits and surrenders himself to her is not kept waiting he is emancipated on the spot for the very service of philosophy is freedom it is likely that you will ask me why I quote so many of epicurus's noble words instead of words taken from our own school but is there any reason why you should regard them as sayings of epicurus and not common property how many poets give fourth ideas that have been uttered or may be uttered by philosophers I need not touch upon the tragedians and our writers of national drama for these last are also somewhat serious and stand halfway between comedy and tragedy what a quantity of sagacious verses lie buried in the mime how many of publilius's lines are worthy of being spoken by busking clad actors as well as by wearers of the slipper I shall quote one verse of his which concerns philosophy and particularly that phase of it which we were discussing a moment ago wherein he says that the gifts of chance are not to be regarded as part of our possessions still alien is whatever you have gained by coveting I recall that you yourself expressed this idea much more happily and concisely what chance has made yours is not really yours and the third spoken by you still more happily shall not be omitted the good that could be given can be removed I shall not charge this up to the expense account because I have given it to you from your own stock [Music] Letter 23 on the true Joy which comes from philosophy do you suppose that I shall write you how kindly the winter season has dealt with us a short season and a mild one or what a nasty spring we are having cold weather out of season and all the other trivialities which people write when they are at a loss for topics of conversation no I shall communicate something which may help both you and myself and what shall this something be if not an exhortation to soundness of mind do you ask what is the foundation of a sound mind it is not to find joy in useless things I said that it was the foundation it is really the Pinnacle we have reached the heights if we know what it is that we find joy in and if we have not placed our happiness in the control of externals the man who is goaded ahead by hope of anything though it be within reach though it be easy of access and though his Ambitions have never played him false his troubled and unsure of himself above all my dear lucillius make this your business learn how to feel Joy do you think that I am now robbing you of many Pleasures when I try to do away with the gifts of chance when I counsel the avoidance of Hope the sweetest thing that gladdens our hearts quite the contrary I do not wish you ever to be deprived of gladness I would have it born in your house and it is born there if only it be inside of you other objects of cheer do not fill a man's bosom they merely smooth his brow and are inconstant unless perhaps you believe that he who laughs has Joy the very Soul must be happy and confident lifted above every circumstance real Joy believe me is a Stern matter can one do you think despise death with a Carefree countenance or with a blind and gay expression as our young dandies are accustomed to say or can one thus open his door to Poverty or hold the curb on his Pleasures or contemplate the endurance of pain he who Ponders these things in his heart is indeed full of joy but it is not a cheerful Joy it is just this Joy however of which I would have you become the owner for it will never fail you when once you have found its source the yield of poor Minds is on the surface those are really rich whose veins lurk deep and they will make more Bountiful returns to him who delves unceasingly so too those baubles which Delight the common crowd are fought but a thin pleasure laid on as a coating and even joy that is only plated lacks a real basis but the joy of which I speak that to which I am endeavoring to lead you is something solid disclosing itself the more fully as you penetrate into it therefore I pray you my dearest lucilius do the one thing that can render you really happy cast aside and trample underfoot all the things that Glitter outwardly and are held out to you by another or as obtainable from another look toward the true good and rejoice only in that which comes from your own store and what do I mean by from your own store I mean from your very self that which is the best part of you the frail body also even though we can accomplish nothing without it is to be regarded as necessary rather than as important it involves Us in vain Pleasures short-lived and soon to be regretted which unless they are reigned in by extreme self-control will be transformed into the opposite this is what I mean pleasure unless it has been kept within bounds tends to rush headlong into the abyss of Sorrow but it is hard to keep within bounds in that which you believe to be good the real good may be coveted with safety do you ask me what this real good is and once it derives I will tell you it comes from a good conscience from honorable purposes from right actions from contempt of the gifts of chance from an even and calm way of living which Treads but one path for men who leap from one purpose to another or do not even leap but are carried over by a sort of Hazard how can such wavering and unstable persons possess any good that is fixed and Lasting there are only a few who control themselves and their Affairs by a guiding purpose the rest do not proceed they are merely swept along like objects afloat in a river and of these objects some are held back by sluggish Waters and are transported gently others are torn Along by a more violent current some which are nearest the bank are left there as the current slackens and others are carried out to sea by the onrush of the Stream therefore we should decide what we wish and abide by the decision now is the time for me to pay my debt I can give you a saying of your friend epicurus and thus clear this letter of its obligation it is bothersome always to be beginning life or another which will perhaps Express the meaning better they live ill who are always beginning to live you are right in asking why the saying certainly stands in need of a commentary it is because the life of such persons is always incomplete but a man cannot stand prepared for the approach of death if he has just begun to live we must make it our aim already to have lived long enough no one deems that he has done so if he is just on the point of planning his life you need not think that there are few of this kind practically everyone is of such a stamp some men indeed only begin to live when it is time for them to leave off living and if this seems surprising to you I shall add that which will surprise you still more some men have left off living before they have begun [Music] [Music] letter 36 on the value of retirement encourage your friend to despise stout-heartedly those who upgrade him because he has sought the shade of retirement and has abdicated his career of honors and though he might have attained more has Preferred Tranquility to them all let him prove daily to these detractors how wisely he has looked out for his own interests those who men Envy will continue to March past him some will be pushed out of the ranks and others will fall Prosperity is a turbulent thing it torments itself it stirs the brain in more ways than one goading men onto various aims some to power and others to high living some it puffs up others it slackens and wholly innovates but the retort comes so and so carries his Prosperity well yes just as he carries his liquor so you need not let this class of men persuade you that one who is besieged by the crowd is happy they run to him as crowds rush for a pool of water rendering it muddy while they drain it but you say men call our friend A trifler and A sluggard there are men you know whose speeches awry who use the contrary terms they called him happy what of it was he happy even the fact that to certain persons he seems a man of a very rough and gloomy cast of mine does not trouble me Aristo used to say that he preferred a youth of stern disposition to one who was a jolly fellow and agreeable to the crowd four he added why in which when new seemed harsh and sour becomes good wine but that which tasted well at the Vintage cannot stand age so let them call him Stern and a foe to his own advancement it is just this sternness that will go well when it is aged provided only that he continues to cherish virtue and to absorb thoroughly the studies which make for culture not those with which it is sufficient for a man to sprinkle himself but those in which the Mind should be steeped now is the time to learn what is there any time when a man should not learn by no means but just as it is creditable for every age to study so it is not creditable for every age to be instructed an old man learning his ABC is a disgraceful and absurd object the young man must store up the old man must use you will therefore be doing a thing most helpful to yourself if you make this friend of yours as good a man as possible those kindnesses they tell us are to be both sought for and bestowed which benefit the giver no less than the receiver and they are unquestionably the best kind ly he has no longer any freedom in the matter he has pledged his word and it is less disgraceful to compound with a creditor than to compound with a promising future to pay his debt of money the businessman must have a prosperous Voyage the farmer must have fruitful fields and kindly weather but the debt which your friend owes can be completely paid by mere Goodwill Fortune has no jurisdiction over character let him so regulate his character that in perfect peace he may bring to Perfection that Spirit within him which feels neither lost nor gain but remains in the same attitude no matter how things fall out a spirit like this if it is heaped with worldly Goods Rises Superior to its wealth if on the other hand chance has stripped him of a part of his wealth or even all it is not impaired if your friend had been born in Parthia he would have begun when a child to bend the bow if in Germany he would forthwith have been brandishing his slender spear if he had been born in the days of our forefathers he would have learned to ride a horse and smite his enemy hand to hand these are the occupations which the system of each race recommends to the individual yes prescribes for him to What then shall this friend of yours devote his attention I say let him learn that which is helpful against all weapons against every kind of foe contempt of death because no one doubts that death has in it something that inspires Terror so that it shocks even our souls which Nature has so molded that they love their own existence for otherwise there would be no need to prepare ourselves and to wet our courage to face that towards which we should move with a sort of voluntary Instinct precisely as all men tend to preserve their existence no man learns a thing in order that if necessity arises he may lie down with composure upon a bed of roses but he steals his courage to this end that he may not surrender his plighted faith to torture and that if need be he may someday stay out his watch in the trenches even though wounded without even leaning on his spear because sleep is likely to creep over men who support themselves by any prop whatsoever in death there is nothing harmful for there must exist something to which it is harmful and yet if you are possessed by so great a craving for a longer life reflect that none of the objects which vanish from our gaze and are reabsorbed into the world of things from which they have come forth and are soon to come forth again is annihilated they merely end their course and do not perish and death which we fear and Shrink from merely interrupts life but does not steal it away the time will return when we shall be restored to the light of day and many men would object to this were they not brought back in forgetfulness of the past but I mean to show you later with more care that everything which seems to perish merely changes since you are destined to return you ought to depart with a tranquil mind Mark how the round of the universe repeats its course you will see that no star in our firmament is extinguished but that they all set and rise in alternation summer has gone but another year will bring it again winter lies low but will be restored by its own proper months Knight has overwhelmed the Sun but they will soon route the night again the wandering Stars retrace their former courses a part of the sky is rising unceasingly and apart is sinking one word more and then I shall stop infants and boys and those who have gone mad have no fear of death and it is most shameful if reason cannot afford US that peace of mind to which they have been brought by their folly [Music] [Music] letter 83 on drunkenness ubid me give you an account of each separate day and of the whole day too so you must have a good opinion of me if you think that in these days of mine there is nothing to hide at any rate it is thus that we should live as if we lived in plain sight of all men and it is thus that we should think as if there was someone who could look into our inmost souls and there is one who can so look for what avails it that something is hidden from man nothing is shut off from the sight of God he is witness of our souls and he comes into the very midst of our thoughts comes into them I say as one who may at any time depart I shall therefore do as you bid and shall gladly inform you by letter what I am doing and in what sequence I shall keep watching myself continually and a most useful habit shall review each day for this is what makes us Wicked that no one of us looks back over his own life our thoughts are devoted only to what we are about to do and yet our plans for the future always depend on the past today has been unbroken no one has felt the slightest part of it from me the whole time has been divided between rest and reading a brief space has been given over to bodily exercise and on this ground I can thank old age my exercise costs very little effort as soon as I stir I'm tired and weariness is the aim and end of exercise no matter how strong one is do you ask who are my pacemakers one is enough for me the slave ferius a pleasant fellow as you know but I shall exchange him for another at my time of life I need one who is of still more Tender Years various at any rate says that he and I are at the same period of life for we are both losing our teeth yet even now I can scarcely follow his Pace as he runs and within a very short time I shall not be able to follow him at all so you see what profit we get from daily exercise very soon there's a wide interval open between two persons who travel different ways my slave is climbing up at the very moment when I am coming down and you surely know how much quicker the latter is nay I was wrong for now my life is not coming down it is falling out right do you ask for all that how our race resulted today we race to a tie something which rarely happens in a running contest after tiring myself out in this way for I cannot call it exercise I took a cold bath this at my house means just short of hot I the former cold water Enthusiast who used to celebrate the New Year by taking a plunge into the canal who just as naturally as I would set out to do some reading or writing or to compose a speech used to inaugurate the first of the year with a plunge into the Virgo Aqueduct have changed my allegiance first to the Tiber and then to my favorite tank which is warmed only by the Sun at times when I am most robust and when there is not a flaw in my bodily processes I have very little energy left for bathing after the bath some stale bread and breakfast without a table no need to wash the hands after such a meal then comes a very short nap you know my habit I Avail myself of a scanty bit of sleep unharnessing as it were for I'm satisfied if I can just stop staying awake sometimes I know that I have slept at other times I have a mere suspicion Lo now the din of the races sounds about me my ears are smitten with sudden and general cheering but this does not upset my thoughts or even break their continuity I can endure an uproar with complete resignation the medley of voices Blended in one note sounds to me like The Dashing of waves or like the wind that lashes the Treetops or like any other sound which conveys no meaning what is it then you ask to which I have been giving my attention I will tell you a thought sticks in my mind left over from yesterday namely what men of the greatest sagacity have meant when they have offered the most trifling and intricate proofs for problems of the greatest importance proofs which may be true but nonetheless resemble fallacies that greatest of men the revered founder of our brave and holy School of philosophy wishes to discourage us from drunkenness listen then to his arguments proving that the good man will not get drunk no one entrusts a secret to a drunken man but one will entrust a secret to a good man therefore the good man will not get drunk how ridiculous Zeno is made when we set up a similar syllogism in contrast with his there are many but one will be enough no one entrusts a secret to a man when he is asleep but one entrusts a secret to a good man therefore the good man does not go to sleep posidonius pleads the cause of our Master Zeno in the only possible way but it cannot I hold be pleaded even in this way for posidonius maintains that the word drunken is used in two ways in the one case of a man who is loaded with wine and has no control over himself in the other of a man who is accustomed to get drunk and is a slave to the habit Zeno he says the man who is accustomed to get drunk not the man who is drunk and no one would entrust to this person any secret for it might be blabbed out when the man was in his cups this is a fallacy for the first syllogism refers to him who is actually drunk and not to him who is about to get drunk you will surely admit that there is a great difference between a man who is drunk and a drunkard he who is actually drunk may be in this state for the first time and may not have the Habit while the drunkard is often free from drunkenness I therefore interpret the word in its usual meaning especially since the syllogism is set up by a man who makes a business of the careful use of words and who weighs his language moreover if this is what Zeno meant and what he wished it to mean to us he was trying to Avail himself of an equivocal word in order to work in a fallacy and no man ought to do this when truth is the object of inquiry but let us admit indeed that he meant what posedonia says even so the conclusion is false that secrets are not entrusted to an habitual drunkard think how many soldiers who are not always sober have been entrusted by a general or a captain or a centurion with messages which might not be divulged with regard to the notorious plot to murder Gaia Caesar I mean the Caesar who conquered Pompey and got control of the state Tilia Simba was trusted with it no less than gaia's Cassius now Cassius throughout his life drank water while Tilia symbol was assault as well as a brawler Simba himself alluded to this fact saying I carry a master I cannot carry my liquor so let each one call to mind those who to his knowledge can be ill-trusted with wine but well trusted with the spoken word and yet one case occurs to my mind which I shall relate lest it fall into Oblivion for life should be provided with conspicuous illustrations let us not always be harking back to the dim past Lucius piso the director of Public Safety at Rome was drunk from the very time of his appointment he used to spend the greater part of the night at Banquets and would sleep until noon that was the way he spent his morning hours nevertheless he applied himself most diligently to his official duties which included the guardianship of the city even the sainted Augustus trusted him with secret orders when he placed him in command of Thrace pizo conquered that country Tiberius 2 trusted him when he took his holiday in Campania leaving behind him in the city many a critical matter that aroused both suspicion and hatred I fancy that it was because piso's drunkenness turned out well for the emperor that he appointed to the office of City prefect causes a man of authority and balance but so soaked and steeped in drink that once at a meeting of the Senate whether he had come after banqueting he was overcome by a slumber from which he could not be roused and had to be carried home it was to this man that Tiberius sent many orders written in his own hand orders which he believed he ought not to trust even to the officials of his household causes never let a single secret slip out whether personal or public so let us abolish all such harangues as this no man in the bonds of drunkenness has power over his soul as the very Vats are burst by new wine and as the dregs at the bottom are raised to the surface by the strength of the fermentation so when the wine effervesces whatever lies hidden below is brought up and made visible as a man overcome by liquor cannot keep down his food when he has over-indulged in wine so he cannot keep back a secret either he pours forth impartially both his own secrets and those of other persons this of course is what commonly happens but so does this that we take Counsel on serious subjects with those whom we know to be in the habit of drinking freely therefore this proposition which is laid down in the guise of a defense of Zeno's syllogism is false that secrets are not entrusted to the habitual drunkard how much better it is to arraign drunkenness frankly and to expose its vices for even the middling good man avoids them not to mention the perfect Sage who is satisfied with slaking his thirst the sage even if now and then he is Led on by good cheer which for a friend's sake is carried somewhat too far yet always stops short of drunkenness we shall investigate later the question whether the mind of the sage is upset by too much wine and commits Follies like those of the topper but meanwhile if you wish to prove that a good man ought not to get drunk why Work It Out by Logic show how bass it is to pour down more liquor than one can carry and not to know the capacity of One's Own stomach show how often the drunkard does things which make him blush when he is sober state that drunkenness is nothing but the condition of insanity purposely assumed prolong the drunkard's condition to several days will you have any doubt about his Madness even as it is the madness is no less it merely lasts a shorter time think of Alexander of Macedon who stabbed Cletus his dearest and most loyal friend at a banquet after Alexander understood what he had done he wished to die and assuredly he ought to have died drunkenness Kindles and discloses every kind of vice and removes the sense of shame that veils our evil undertakings for more men abstain from forbidden actions because they are ashamed of sinning then because their inclinations are good when the strength of wine has become too great and has gained control over the mind every lurking evil comes forth from its Hiding Place drunkenness doesn't create Vice it merely brings it into view at such times the lustful man does not wait even for the privacy of a bedroom but without postponement gives free play to the demands of his passions at such times the unchaste man proclaims and publishes his malady at such times your cross-grained fellow does not restrain his tongue or his hand the haughty man increases his arrogance the ruthless man his cruelty the slanderer his spitefulness every Vice is given free play and comes to the front besides we forget who we are we are the words that are halting and poorly enunciated the glance is unsteady the step falters the head is dizzy the very ceiling moves about as if a cyclone were whirling the whole house and the stomach suffers torture when the wine generates gas and causes our very bowels to swell however at the time these troubles can be endured so long as the man retains his natural strength but what can he do when sleep impairs his powers and when that which was drunkenness becomes indigestion think of the calamities caused by drunkenness in a nation this evil has betrayed to their enemies the most spirited and warlike races this evil has made breaches in walls defended by the stubborn Warfare of many years this evil has forced under alien sway peoples who were utterly unyielding and defiant of the Yoke this evil has conquered by the wine cup those who in the field were invincible Alexander whom I have just mentioned passed through his many marches his many battles his many winter campaigns through which he worked his way by overcoming disadvantages of time or place the many rivers which flowed from unknown sources and the many seas all in safety it was in Temperance in drinking that laid him low and the famous death dealing bowl of Hercules what glory is there in carrying much liquor when you have won the prize and the other banqueters sprawling asleep or vomiting have declined your challenge to steal other toasts when you are the last survivor of the rebels when you have vanquished Everyone by your magnificent show of prowess and there is no man who has proved himself of so great capacity as you you are vanquished by The Cask Marc Anthony was a great man a man of distinguished ability but what ruined him and drove him into foreign habits and unroman vices if it was not drunkenness and no less potent than Wine love of Cleopatra this it was that made him an enemy of the state this it was that rendered him no match for his enemies this it was that made him cruel when as he sat at table the heads of the leaders of the state were brought in when amid the most elaborate feasts and Royal luxury he would identify the faces and hands of men whom he had prescribed a win though heavy with wine he yet thirsted for blood it was intolerable that he was getting drunk while he did such things how much more intolerable that he did these things while actually drunk cruelty usually follows wine bibbing for a man's soundness of mind is corrupted and made Savage just as a lingering illness makes men querulous and irritable and drives them Wild At the least Crossing of their desires so continued bouts of drunkenness bestialize the soul for when people are often beside themselves the habit of Madness lasts on and the vices which liquor generated retain their power even when the liquor is gone therefore you should State why the wise man ought not to get drunk explained by facts and not by mere words the hideousness of the thing and its haunting evils do that which is easiest of all demonstrate that what men call Pleasures are punishments as soon as they have exceeded new bounds for if you try to prove that the wise man can souse himself with much wine and yet keep his course straight even though he be in his cups you may go on to infer by syllogisms that he will not die if he swallows poison that he will not sleep if he takes a sleeping potion that he will not vomit and reject the matter which clogs his stomach when you give him hellebore but when a man's feet taught her and his tongue is unsteady what reason have you for believing that he is half sober and half drunk foreign [Music] 92 on the happy life [Music] you and I will agree I think that outward things are sought for the satisfaction of the body that the body is cherished out of regard for the soul and that in the soul there are certain parts which minister to us enabling us to move and to sustain life bestowed upon us just for the sake of the primary part of us in this primary part there is something irrational and something rational the former obeys the latter while the latter is the only thing that is not referred back to another but rather refers all things to itself for the Divine reason also is set in Supreme command over all things and is itself subject to none and even this reason which we possess is the same because it is derived from the Divine reason now if we are agreed on this point it is natural that we shall be agreed on The Following also namely that the happy life depends upon this and this alone our attainment of perfect reason for it is not but this that keeps the soul from being bowed down that stands its ground against Fortune whatever the condition of their Affairs may be it keeps men untroubled and that alone is a good which is never subject to impairment that man I declare is Happy whom nothing makes less strong than he is he keeps to the heights leaning upon none but himself for one who sustains himself by any prop may fall if the case is otherwise then things which do not pertain to us will begin to have great influence over us but who desires Fortune to have the upper hand or what sensible man Prides himself upon that which is not his own what is the happy life it is peace of mind and Lasting Tranquility this will be yours if you possess greatness of Soul it will be yours if you possess the steadfastness that resolutely clings to a good judgment just reached how does a man Reach This condition by gaining a complete view of Truth by maintaining in all that he does order measure Fitness and a will that is inoffensive and kindly that is intent upon reason and never departs there from that commands at the same time love and admiration in short to give you the principle in brief Compass the wise man's Soul ought to be such as would be proper for a god what more can one desire who possesses all honorable things for if dishonorable things can contribute to the best estate then there will be the possibility of a happy life under conditions which do not include an honorable life and what is more base or foolish than to connect the good of a rational soul with things irrational yet there are certain philosophers who hold that the Supreme good admits of increase because it is hardly complete when the gifts of Fortune are adverse even antipata one of the great leaders of this school admits that he ascribes some influence to externals though only a very slight influence you see however what absurdity lies in not being content with the daylight unless it is increased by a tiny fire what importance can a spark have in the midst of this clear sunlight if you are not contented with only that which is Honorable it must follow that you desire in addition either the kind of quiet which the Greeks call undisturbedness or else pleasure but the former may be attained in any case for the mind is free from disturbance when it is fully free to contemplate the universe and nothing distracts it from the contemplation of nature the second pleasure is simply the good of cattle we are but adding the irrational to the rational the dishonorable to The Honorable a pleasant physical sensation affects this life of ours why therefore do you hesitate to say that all is well with a man just because all is well with his appetite and do you rate I will not say among Heroes but among men the person whose Supreme good is a matter of flavors and colors and sounds nay let him withdraw from the ranks of this the noblest class of living beings second only to the gods let him heard with the dumb brutes an animal whose Delight is in fodder the irrational part of the soul is twofold the one part is Spirited ambitious uncontrolled its seat is in the passions the other is lowly sluggish and devoted to pleasure philosophers have neglected the former which though unbridled is yet better and is certainly more courageous and more worthy of a man and have regarded the latter which is nervous and ignoble as indispensable to the happy life they have ordered reason to serve this latter they have made the Supreme good of the noblest living being an abject and mean Affair and a monstrous hybrid too composed of various members which harmonize but ill for as our Virgil describing Cilla says above a human face and maiden's breast a beauteous breast below a monster huge of bulk and shapeless with a dolphin's tail joined to a wolf-like belly and yet to this Silla are attacked on the forms of wild animals Dreadful and Swift but from what monstrous shapes have these wise Acres compounded wisdom man's primary art is virtue itself there is joined to this the useless and fleeting flesh fitted only for the reception of food as posidonious remarks this Divine virtue ends in foulness and to the higher Parts which are worshipful and Heavenly there is fastened as sluggish and flabby animal as for the second isidaratum quiet although it would indeed not of itself be of any benefit to the soul yet it would relieve the soul of hindrances pleasure on the contrary actually destroys the soul and softens all its Vigor what elements so in harmonious as these can be found United to that which is most vigorous is joined that which is most sluggish to that which is austere that Which is far from serious to that which is most holy that which is unrestrained even to the point of impurity what then comes the retort if good health rest and Freedom From Pain are not likely to hinder virtue shall you not seek all these of course I shall seek them but not because they are Goods I shall seek them because they are according to Nature and because they will be acquired through the exercise of good judgment on my part what then will be good in them this alone that it is a good thing to choose them for when I don suitable attire or walk as I should or Dine as I ought to dine it is not my dinner or my walk or my dress that are Goods but the deliberate Choice which I show in regard to them as I observe in each thing I do a mean that conforms with reason let me also add that the choice of neat clothing is a fitting object of a man's efforts for man is by nature a neat and well-groomed animal hence the choice of neat attire and not neat attire in itself is a good since the good is not in the thing selected but in the quality of the selection our actions are honorable but not the actual things which we do and you may assume that what I have said about dress applies also to the body for Nature has surrounded our soul with the body as with a sort of garment the body is its cloak but who has ever reckoned the value of clothes by the Wardrobe which contained them the Scabbard does not make the sword good or bad therefore with regard to the body I shall return the same answer to you that if I have the choice I shall choose health and strength but that the good involved will be my judgment regarding these things and not the things themselves another retort is granted that the wise man is Happy nevertheless he does not attain the Supreme good which we have defined unless the means also which nature provides for its attainment are at his call so while one who possesses virtue cannot be unhappy yet one cannot be perfectly happy if one lacks such natural gifts as health or soundness of limb but in saying this you grant the alternative which seems the more difficult to believe that the man who is in the midst of unremitting and extreme pain is not wretched nay is even happy and you deny that which is much less serious that he is completely happy and yet a virtue can keep a man from being wretched it would be an easier task for it to render him completely happy for the difference between happiness and complete happiness is less than that between wretchedness and happiness can it be possible that a thing which is so powerful as to snatch a man from disaster and place him among the happy cannot also accomplish what remains and render him supremely happy does its strength fail at the very top of the climb there are in-life things which are advantageous and disadvantageous both beyond our control if a good man in spite of being weighed down by all kinds of disadvantages is not wretched how is he not supremely happy no matter if he does lack certain advantages for as he is not weighted down to wretchedness by his burden of disadvantages so he is not withdrawn from Supreme happiness through lack of any advantages nay he is just as supremely happy without the advantages as he is free from wretchedness though under the load of his disadvantages otherwise if his good can be impaired it can be snatched from him altogether a short space above I remark that a tiny fire does not add to the Sun's light for by reason of the sun's brightness any light that shines apart from the sunlight is blotted out but one may say there are certain objects that stand in the way even of the sunlight the sun however is unimpaired even in the midst of obstacles and though an object May intervene and cut off our view thereof the sun sticks to his work and goes on his course whenever he shines forth from amid the clouds he is no smaller nor less punctual either than when he is free from clouds since it makes a great deal of difference whether there is merely something in the way of his light or something which interferes with his Shining similarly obstacles take nothing away from virtue it is no smaller but merely shines with less brilliancy in our eyes it may perhaps be less visible and less luminous than before but as regards itself it is the same and like the sun when he is eclipsed is still though in secret putting forth its strength disasters therefore and losses and Wrongs have only the same power over virtue that a cloud has over the Sun we meet with one person who maintains that a wise man who has met with bodily Misfortune is neither wretched nor happy but he also is in error for he is putting the results of chance upon a parity with the virtues and is attributing only the same influence to things that are honorable as to things that are devoid of Honor but what is more detestable and more unworthy than to put contemptible things in the same class with things worthy of reverence for reverence is due to Justice Duty loyalty bravery and prudence on the contrary those attributes are worthless with which the most worthless men are often blessed in Fuller measure such as a sturdy leg strong shoulders good teeth and healthy and solid muscles again if the wise man whose body is a trial to him shall be regarded as neither wretched nor happy but shall be left in a sort of halfway position his life also will be neither desirable nor undesirable but what is so foolish as to say that the wise man's life is not desirable and what is so far beyond the bounds of credence as the opinion that any life is neither desirable nor undesirable again if bodily ills do not make a man wretched they consequently allow him to be happy for things which have no power to change his condition for the worse have not the power either to disturb that condition when it is at its best but someone will say we know what is cold and what is hot a lukewarm temperature lies between similarly a is happy and B is wretched and C is neither happy nor wretched I wish to examine this figure which is brought into play against us if I add to your lukewarm water a larger quantity of cold water the result will be cold water but if I pour in a larger quantity of hot water the water will finally become hot in the case however of your man who is neither wretched nor happy no matter how much I add to his troubles he will not be unhappy according to your argument hence your figure offers no analogy again suppose that I set before you a man who is neither miserable nor happy I add blindness to his misfortunes he is not rendered unhappy I him he is not rendered unhappy I add afflictions which are unceasing and severe he is not rendered unhappy therefore one whose life is not changed to Misery by all these ills is not dragged by them either from his life of happiness then if as you say the wise man cannot fall from happiness to wretchedness he cannot fall into non-happiness for how if one has begun to slip can one stop at any particular place that which prevents him from Rolling to the bottom keeps him at the summit why you urge may not a happy life possibly be destroyed it cannot even be disjointed and for that reason virtue is itself of itself sufficient for the happy life but it is said is not the wise man happier if he has lived longer and has been distracted by no pain than one who has always been compelled to Grapple with evil Fortune answer me now is he any better or more honorable if he is not then he is not happier either in order to live more happily he must live more rightly if he cannot do that then he cannot live more happily either virtue cannot be strained Tighter and therefore neither can the happy life which depends on virtue for virtue is so great a good that it is not affected by such insignificant assaults upon it as shortness of Life pain and the various bodily vexations for pleasure does not deserve that virtue should even glance at it now what is the chief thing in virtue it is the quality of not needing a single day beyond the present and of not Reckoning up the days that are ours in the slightest possible moment of time virtue completes an eternity of good these Goods seem to us incredible and transcending man's nature for we measure its Grandeur by the standard of our own weakness and we call our vices by the name of virtue furthermore does it not seem just as incredible that any man in the midst of extreme suffering should say I am happy and yet this utterance was heard in the very Factory of pleasure when epicurus said today and one other day have been the happiest of all although in the one case he was tortured by strangery and in the other by the incurable pain of an ulcerated stomach why then should those goods which virtue bestows be incredible in the sight of us who cultivate virtue when they are found even in those who acknowledge pleasure as their mistress these also ignoble and base-minded as they are declare that even in the midst of excessive pain and Misfortune the wise man will be neither wretched nor happy and yet this also is incredible nay still more incredible than the other case for I do not understand how if virtue Falls from our Heights she can help being hurled all the way to the bottom she either must preserve one in happiness or if driven from this position she will not prevent us from becoming unhappy if virtue only stands her ground she cannot be driven from the field she must either conquer or be conquered but some say only to the immortal Gods is given virtue and the happy life we can attain but the shadow as it were and semblance of such Goods as theirs we approach them but we never reach them reason however is a common attribute of both Gods and Men in the gods it is already perfected in us it is capable of being perfected but it is our vices that bring us to despair for the second class of rational being man is of an inferior order a guardian as it were who is too unstable to hold fast to what is best his judgment still wavering and uncertain he may require the faculties of sight and hearing good health a bodily exterior that is not loathsome and besides greater Length of days conjoined with an unimpaired Constitution though by means of reason he can lead a life which will not bring regrets yet there resides in this imperfect creature man a certain power that makes for Badness because he possesses a mind which is easily moved to perversity suppose however the Badness which is in full View and has previously been stirred to activity to be removed the man is still not a good man but he is being molded to goodness one however in whom there is lacking any quality that makes for goodness is bad but he and whose body virtue dwells and Spirit Air present is equal to the gods mindful of his origin he strives to return dither no man does wrong in attempting to regain the Heights from which he once came down and why should you not believe that something of divinity exists in one who is a part of God all this universe which encompasses us is one and it is God we are Associates of God we are his members our soul has capabilities and is carried thither if vices do not hold it down just as it is the nature of our bodies to stand direct and look upward to the sky so the soul which may reach out as far as it will was framed by nature to this end that it should desire equality with the Gods and if it makes use of its powers and stretches upward into its proper region It Is by no alien path that it struggles toward the Heights it would be a great task to Journey heavenwards the soul but returns dither when once it has found the road it boldly Marches On scornful of all things it casts no backward glance at wealth gold and silver things which are fully worthy of the Gloom in which they once Lay It values not by the sheen which smites the eyes of the ignorant but by the mire of ancient days whence our greed first detached and dug them out the solely affirm knows that riches are stored elsewhere than in men's heaped up treasure houses that it is the soul and not the strong box which should be filled it is the soul that men may set in dominion over all things and may install as owner of the universe so that it may limit its riches only by the boundaries of east and west and like the gods May possess all things and that it may with its own vast resources look down from on high upon the wealthy no one of whom rejoices as much in his own wealth as he resents the wealth of another when the soul has transported itself to this lofty height it regards the body also since it is a burden which must be born not as a thing to love but as a thing to oversee nor is it subservient to that over which it is set in mastery for no man is free who is a slave to his body indeed omitting all the other Masters which are brought into being by excessive care for the body the sway which the body itself exercises is captious and fastidious forth from this body the soul issues now with unruffled Spirit now with exaltation and when once it has gone forth asks not what shall be the end of the deserted day no just as we do not take thought for the clippings of the hair and the beard even so that Divine Soul when it is about to issue forth from the Mortal man regards the destination of its Earthly vessel whether it be consumed by fire or shut in by a stone or buried in the Earth or torn by wild beasts as being of no more concern to itself than is the afterbirth to a child just born and whether this body shall be cast out and plucked to Pieces by birds or devoured when thrown to the Sea Dogs as prey how does that concern him who is nothing nay even when it is among the living the soul fears nothing that may happen to the body after death for those such things may have been threats they were not enough to terrify the soul previous to the moment of death it says I am not frightened by The Executioner's hook nor by the revolting mutilation of the corpse which is exposed to the scorn of those who would witness the spectacle I ask no man to perform the last rites for me I entrust my remains to none Nature has made provision that None Shall go unburied time will lay away one whom cruelty has cast forth those were eloquent Words which Messina's uttered I want no tomb for nature doth provide for Outcast bodies burial you would imagine that this was the saying of a man of strict principles he was indeed a man of noble and robust native gifts but in prosperity he impaired these gifts by laxness farewell [Music] as we reach the end of this enlightening exploration into seneca's stoic principles it's clear that each of these hand-picked letters serves as a unique lens through which we can examine the complexities of human emotions and the Quest for authentic Joy today we've traveled far and wide across the rich landscape of stoic philosophy extending the foundational insights we gleaned from our previous video and Diving even deeper into how these age-old teachings can offer us unmatched emotional resilience in today's fast-paced world the guiding principle that ties all these letters together is the stoic focus on internal overexternal a pivot toward our inner selves to find the stability contentment and emotional resilience that the outside world cannot provide by seeking seclusion for self-reflection as mentioned in the first letter we arm ourselves with the mental Clarity needed to tackle life's many complexities this self-imposed Solitude serves not as an escape but as a strategy for understanding the essence of our desires and aspirations moving from seclusion to Joy we delved into the unspoken truth that Joy is an internal condition irrespective of external circumstances The elusive sense of Happiness we constantly seek in material Goods societal status or others approval is within us all along the key is to understand that Joy is not something to be found it's something to be cultivated and maintained and it begins with a shift in perspective a shift in values the third letter enriched our understanding of the concept of retirement not the end of Life retreat into Oblivion but the stoic practice of retreating from the chaos to focus on the essentials it's about momentarily stepping back to realign our life's Compass to breathe think and then re-engage with the world from a place of renewed strength and wisdom discussing the subject of drunkenness and excess in the fourth letter we confronted the darker aspects of human behavior that everyone to some degree has grappled with whether it's over indulging in food drink or even emotional extremes Seneca reminds us that the goal should always be moderation self-control and Inner Harmony and finally we touch the Apex of human Pursuit the Quest for a happy life this is not a transient emotional state but a lasting condition of well-being rooted in ethical living mindfulness and a genuine understanding of our place in the cosmic order it's as if each letter serves as a stepping stone helping us cross the turbulent River of existence towards a state of invulnerable joy and emotional equilibrium the stoic truths in these letters serve not just as philosophical ideas to ponder but as actionable insights to apply Here and Now so here's my call to action for you take just one of these principles whether it's the strategy of seclusion for self-reflection the internal cultivation of Joy the wisdom of tactical withdrawal the Mastery of self-control or the pursuit of genuine happiness and apply it consciously for the next week make a daily habit of it and then take a moment to observe how it transforms your emotional landscape allow seneca's wisdom to not just enter your mind but to permeate your life it's one thing to be moved emotionally by philosophy but it's another to be transformed by it and that's the challenge I leave you with today don't just be a passive receiver of wisdom be an active participant in your own transformation the journey toward emotional Mastery and genuine Joy is not a spectator sport it's the very essence of life [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: SUCCESS CHASERS

Views: 21,363

Keywords: success chasers, stoicism, seneca, letters from a stoic, seneca life lessons, stoicism philosophy, self development, self improvement, Mastering Your Emotions, Stoic Secrets to Finding Joy in the Everyday!, stoic secrets, emotional resilience, mental resilience, mental toughness

Id: Aeokl-ytA7o

Length: 64min 42sec (3882 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 28 2023